How to Install New Audio Visualizations in VLC

If you are looking to add new audio visualizations (projectM) to VLC Media Player, then first you need to download the files. Next, you need to copy them to a folder in VLC’s program directory. Finally, point to the projectM directory from the visualization options of VLC’s Advanced settings. It does sound a bit complicated, but all that we’re doing is downloading, copying and pointing to the visualizations.

Here are the detailed steps to install visualizations by projectM in VLC Media Player:

Extract the compressed .tar.gz file and everything will be extracted to the directory projectM-complete-2.1.0-Source. Open it.The visualizations or .milk files are present inside the following sub-directories:

In the bottom left, from Show settings click on All to switch to Advanced preferences.

In Advanced settings under Audio > Visualizations > projectM > projectM preset path browse and point to C:\Program Files\VideoLAN\VLC\Visualizations/presets_milkdrop.This is the folder containing the .milk files that you just downloaded.

After this, if you choose Audio > Visualizations > projectM , it will play a random projectM visualization that follows the waveform.
It’s pretty cool.

Notes:

If the visualizations folder does not exist, then you will have to create the new folder.

You’ll have to give admin privileges to create a new folder and to copy files.

You can also copy and point to the other five presets directory besides presets_milkdrop.

About Audio Visualizations

If you do not know, visualizations are used to fill up your screen when playing audio files. They respond to the audio track that is currently playing. They are accessible through Audio > Visualizations menu. By default, in Windows, you you will find six visualizations:

Spectrometer

Scope

Spectrum

Vu meter

Goom

projectM

In this tutorial we just covered how to install visualizations from projectM. Before installation, it just shows projectM in a flashy manner.

Damn!! Installed VLS version 3.0.8 to do this change-up, and now:
1) The screen STAYS BLACK for all video (is that fixable, or am I gonna have to downgrade?)
2) The GOOM visualization now pastes an annoying “GOOM” title floating over the graphics every minute or two!! It never did THAT before! Is that fixable?

Thanks for these explanations.
It’s work but not perfectly. Can’t, like with other Visualizations Goon and other, double click on mouse and have full screen mode. Not able too using the menu “View / Full Screen Interface”.

So i followed the instructions above and had no issues making this work, so thank you its a cool viz. I have one problem though the milk viz’s do not work full screen all my other different vis’s work full screen not sure if this is just the way it is or am i having some kind of problem any info would be appreciated.

I don’t have the path C:\Program Files\VideoLAN (x86)\VLC\Visualizations\presets_milkdrop, but I found the visualisation path in the plugin folder, but that doesn’t matter, you have just to specify the path were the payer have to find the visualisations.
I’ve extract all the files from the download link above: projectM-complete-2.1.0-Source.tar.gz (31.1 MB) and put all the files from the folders: presets_milkdrop, presets_milkdrop_104, presets_milkdrop_200, presets_projectM and presets_yin in the visualisation folder and then magic happened!

On the right side you will see a number with a pixel ratio, delete entry 1024 and enter 360, then save or apply. I did not apply a little more opener and picture uploads please please wait for an immediate reply ?

NAMELESS is correct. You cannot extract from a .tar.gz file with a WINDOWS operating system. You should have explained that when you said extract. Unless you explain how to extract for WINDOWS users, the rest of your tutorial is useless.

This while tutorial reeks. First off, 7zip will get the files. Next is there a file called presets_milkdrop or is this assumed to be the directory we must copy. Also do we need to create the parent directory, “Visualizations”. Then once you get past all of the filesystem faux pas, VLC configuration instructions are lacking. Found the place to enter the directory, however, there was no projectM selection under the Audio//Visualizations submenu. I did find a configuration setting where you can set the visualztion effect there. One of the options was libprojectM effect. Selecting this had no effect until you restarted VLC at which point it crashed! Then you have to start VLC manually (not from a song association) and reconfigure this off.

I know this is a little late on the reply. But I had no issues extracting .tar.gz on a Windows OS. Using just the factory default ZIP file opener. I know if you do use WinRAR, or 7-ZIP they can asl Extract .tar.gz files. Just some food for thought.

This version does work. I uninstalled latest version to 2.1.5, and found it to work perfectly. Using milkdrop with the latest version somehow causes the pixilation to compress so tightly it causes a choppy effect along with crashing. But with the 2.1.5 vlc player you can adjust the pixilation or definition to its lowest point, and in effect grants the user a better viewpoint to the graphics with the music. Just go into the preference panel, and choose all in the lower left corner. Then click on visuals in the list on the left hand side, and then Projectm. On the right hand side it will show a number in pixel rate,… delete entry 1024, and then input 360, then save or apply. That’s it. Go back, and restart vlc with a song, and enjoy the show. You won’t even notice the difference when its running.

On the right side you will see a number with a pixel ratio, delete entry 1024 and enter 360, then save or apply. I did not apply a little more opener and picture uploads please please wait for an immediate reply 🙂

WoTTa cryin’ shame! Somebody said “milkdrop” today, and it all came flooding back to me: I used to spend like…well, I don’t want to say how much time I spent – trying every single setting that could be adjusted, picking out the ones I loved, making visual playlists to go with my audio tracks. I even have a bag filled with all types of 3D glasses imaginable that I have collected over the years, which always helped things. One evening I had been playing with it like a zombie for an hour++, and I turned around from my huge HDTV / monitor…and there were like three buddies of mine behind me with glasses on, just watching the stuff that was being created. Hilarious…but TOTALLY GREAT at the same time… HOWEVER! THAT was all accomplished on another computer (XP?) and I was using Windows Media Player. (I had not yet been seduced by VLC, hook, line, and sinker. I don’t think I even HAVE anything related to Windows Media Player on my current, Win7 PC. I am so PRO-VLC and ANTI-WMP. haha) Well, now that I HAVE become a VLC user, 100% for quite a few years now actually, now that the subject of VISUALIZATIONS has come up, I am really kind of appalled at how incredibly limited VLC is in that department…and it seems like the guys who are smart enough to make any adjustments or improvements to VLC don’t really care too much about anything relating to the hardcore visualizations like milkdrop. (I am clearly just a USER, you can tell…I AM very thankful that there are bountiful tecchies to make open source stuff like VLC for us to enjoy, though!)
I mean….VLC will let you watch a movie clip while putting it together as a jigsaw puzzle, for crying out loud! And there’s HUNDREDS of other little weird things you can do with VLC…so why no VLC-milkdrop-plugin-gizmo?
Does anyone have any solutions when it comes to the Visualization dilemma? I won’t stray too far from VLC…but maybe there is just a small application on the WWW that shows visualizations, regardless of the application that you use to listen to your music? I mean, I have desktop “Gadgets” running on my Win7 PC, and even THEY will play your choice of 4 different Spectrum Analyzers, that are affected nicely when any audio occurs… So it CAN’T be THAT difficult for someone to conjure up something better than “GooM” for us users! haha
Any leads or suggestions would be highly appreciated!
~SDRanger

People, MAX very clearly posed on May 31, 2015 – 6:11 am that ProjectM is defunct. Kindly take the time to read the full thread before posting, yet again, that this does not work for you.

ProjectM is no longer enabled in VLC and it looks like it will NOT be re-enabled any time soon, if at all. You CAN try to install manually, but please be aware that VLC’s implementation of the plugin was always buggy at best. Your mileage may vary. 😉

I tried putting the presets in plugins/visualizations folder (with slashes I followed status quo for my Windows 8.1) along with trying it the way explained and adding a Visualization folder to put presets in, and neither worked (after trying pointing to all the variations and crashing and redoing preferences many times), and as Simon says, the menu does not show projectM…………….So how do we operate on the menu problem. Is there a way this could be offered as a plugin that would work in the plugin folder where visualizations currently are? I’m looking forward to a functioning Milkdrop, so keep me posted

Followed all instructions, using latest version. Under Preferences, simple, audio tab, selected LibprojectM under visualization dropdown menu. Then, under “all” settings (advanced), under Audio, visualizations dropdown, it shows glSpectrum, Goom, ProjectM, and Visualizer. I can select projectM, and fill in the path, as instructed. Problem: When playing an audio file, if I select the Audio dropdown menu, and select visualizations, it does NOT show projectM in the list of avaliable visualizations! Yes, the “slashes” in the path are all pointing in the same direction. Help!

Hi friends. i tried on my windows 8.1 to add new Visualizations (projectM, precet_milkdrop) but i am unable to see ProjectM in VLC visualizations options. i thing there is some problem in above shown method.

Have the same problem too
“projectM” doesn’t appear under the Audio –> visualizations menu
If I choose “libProjectM effect” from the combobox Audio –> Visualization in the Advance Preference, VLC crashes imediately

actually the problem is remaining…
if I choose to open projectM automatically VLC will crush and also not be able to upload the error.
if I simply rename any plugin itself to be the libprojectm for ex libgoom dll it will cause that the renamed effect is not listed in dropdown anymore and in all settings it will have 2 entries.

additional
old VLC user since 9x times
prepared projectm allready on a lot of systems

I also followed the steps, and “projectM” doesn’t appear under the Visualizations menu. I’m using Windows 7 with VLC 2.2.1 and projectM is present in the Advanced Settings. I’ve set the preset path to “../Visualizations\presets_milkdrop”.

Hi, it looks like the author has made a small typo. One of the slashes is facing the wrong way.
The path is supposed to be: ../Visualizations/presets_milkdrop
Depending on your region it might also be: ..\Visualizations\presets_milkdrop
Basically slashes should always be facing in the same direction every time.